


The Promise of Fate

by turntechGeneticist717



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Adam is just a poor boy, Fae AU, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Kid Adam, M/M, Ronan is a Fae prince, dubious marriage consent, fae, from a poor family, he takes form as a raven, ill update tags as i get farther into this, mentions of child abuse, nobody loves him, ok im done, raven ronan, until raven prince Ronan comes and saves him from this monstrosity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-30 18:17:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15102290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turntechGeneticist717/pseuds/turntechGeneticist717
Summary: Adam lives with his abusive parents in the small village of Henrietta. He has no friends and lives a lonely, sad existence until one day, when he's eleven years old, he meets a very peculiar Raven in the forest. Unbeknownst to Adam, the raven is actually a fairy prince named Ronan but because the Fae are not allowed to reveal their true form to humans until they come of age, Ronan must keep his raven form around Adam. Despite all their differences and lack of communication, the two become unlikely friends and  it's not until many years later, after they've both turned 18 that Adam learns the truth of his Raven friend and it comes in the form of a very unexpected and unwanted marriage proposal.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, so obviously this is going to be a fae AU and probably pretty weird but I'm excited about writing it and hope you all enjoy reading it <3

There were many words that could be used to describe Adam Parrish but perhaps the most accurate one would be _lonesome_. At just eleven years old, he was what most people in the small village of Henrietta, where he lived, would call peculiar. Quiet and standoffish, he was never able to make friends with any of the other children in Henrietta and it was a fact that was never far from his mind.

The kinder villagers would describe him as an old soul and the less kind ones, at best, would call him odd. But, despite their differences in how they might describe him, the townspeople all did one thing the same when it came to Adam Parrish and that was conveniently ignoring the bruises that so often marred his young body or the yelling that so frequently came from the small shack where he lived with his parents.

Adam knew that everyone around him knew his secret and it just further reinforced his belief that he must somehow deserve the punishments his father would dish out. That somehow there must be something wrong with him to cause his mother to say the harsh things to him that she did. If it wasn’t his fault then surely someone, just one person, would step in and say that what was happening was wrong, but no one ever came to Adam’s rescue.

Adam, who was a clever child by anyone’s standards, was constantly trying to figure out what it was about himself that made him unlovable to his parents. What was it about himself that made his dad so angry? What was it about him that turned his mother cold and distant? What he could do to try to be better and diffuse his father’s temper? It was the one puzzle that Adam was always unable to solve.

After one particularly rough day at home, Adam retreated into the forest that stood at the far edge of his village.  Over the years it had become his place of solitude and it was almost a sanctuary for him of sorts. It admittedly probably wasn’t the safest place for a child to be, especially alone, but in comparison to what waited for him at home it was by far the lesser of two evils.

Although it was a considerable walk, Adam decided to trek to one of his favorite spots, an ancient looking willow tree that hovered at the edge of a small pond. His body, as well as his heart, was aching and he yearned for the comfort of the branches where he could let his tears flow without fear of a reprimand. Normally he would climb up as high into the willow’s branches as he could reach but today not only did he not have the strength, but his left arm was aching so bad it would be counterproductive to try to climb. Instead Adam settled down at the base of the willow and with a heavy sigh he leaned against the base of the trunk.

Adam was always careful to keep his emotions under a tight lock and key, dissecting them until they were no longer a threat but here in the forest was the one place he could let himself feel and not be scared or ashamed of his emotions. He sat there for a while, letting the day come back to him, trying to figure out what he had done to make his father so mad so that he could avoid doing it again in the future, although he was slowly coming to realize what an impossible feat that would be.

At one point, when the tears in his eyes where flowing hard enough that his vision was blurred, Adam felt something small thunk on the top of his head. He seized up immediately, his brain instantly registering that it may have come from a potential threat, that maybe his sanctuary had been discovered. After several long minutes of no danger immerging (i.e. his father) from the woods, Adam’s rapid heart beat and breathing finally slowed back to a normal pace.

On the ground several feet away from him lay a small, almost shiny rock that Adam hadn’t noticed before and he wondered if maybe that was what had bonked him on the head. He stood up and took the few steps that would put him close enough to the stone to be able to pick it up and as he stooped to do so, Adam heard a rustling in the tree above him.

He quickly scooped up the stone and deposited into his pocket for later inspection and immediately straightened back up and peered up into the willow tree, searching for the cause of the noise. It took a flash of movement for Adam to spot the bird as it hopped down to a lower branch and Adam was startled by just how intensely the bird seemed to be staring back at him.

If Adam had been a little older, or if perhaps he had listened more intently to the tales the elders of the village were so fond of whispering about, Adam might have realized that there was something different about this bird, but Adam just thought it must be a species that he had never heard or read about before.

It appeared to be some type of corvid, a crow or maybe a raven. It was distinctly large, much bigger than any bird Adam had ever seen before including the falcons the hunters from his village favored. Despite it’s size, Adam for some reason was overcome with the distinct impression that it was a juvenile. It’s feathers glistened the blackest black that Adam had ever seen but the spots that caught the few rays of sun that filtered through the willow tree’s canopy seemed to almost dance with every color imaginable.

It’s eyes were a startling blue, Adam hadn’t even realized birds could have colored eyes, and they bore into Adam as if they were reading into the darkest reaches of his soul. Adam stared back just as intensely, startled, yet completely fascinated by the corvid as well. After several long moments Adam stepped closer to the tree and spoke out loud, startling himself and the bird.

“Did you throw that rock at me?” he asked it and immediately felt a bit silly for talking to an animal. Much to his surprise the raven scooted over on the branch a clipped a small twig from one of the smaller branches with it’s beak and launched it down at Adam.

“What the hell?” Adam yelled up at it and it ruffled it’s feather in response before snapping another small twig off again, launching it down towards Adam.

“That’s it,” Adam said, more to himself than the bird, although didn’t really know what he meant by that other than that he was going to try to chase it away. Despite the pain in his arm, Adam ran to the tree and began to climb up it, intent on reaching the Raven.

As he climbed, the Raven squawked, whether with amusement or displeasure Adam wasn’t sure, and continued to launch small sticks at Adam’s head. Adam, never one to be discouraged, continued his assent until he finally reached the branch where the raven stood. As he braced on leg on either side of it to steady himself he let out a triumphant ‘HA!’ and deflected the last twig the raven tossed towards his head.

The raven, maybe spooked by Adam’s close proximity or loud ‘HA’ choose that moment to finally take flight and with one last glance Adam’s way it swooped from the branch and back into the shadows of the forest.

Adam watched it go until he could no longer see it, not even attempting to hide his disappointment. He hadn’t known what he would do when he reached the pesky bird, but he had hoped it would stick around awhile even if it had continued to launch sticks at him.

Adam leaned back against the tree with a disappointed sigh. Now that he was up this far he figured he might as well stay for a while and enjoy the view. Adam was a bit scared of heights, but he loved the exhilarated feeling that being up so high brought him. He stayed there until close to dusk when he finally climbed down and head back towards home.

The encounter with the raven had distracted him from thoughts of his father and his tears had long since dried but the closer he came to his house, the more the familiar anxiety that came from living there creeped back into his chest.

Thankfully both of his parents were rather subdued that night. Adam figured it probably had to do with the fact they hadn’t had to suffer his presence most of the day since he had spent it hiding in the forest. Neither of them asked where he had been or if he was okay after his father’s earlier attack, but Adam preferred their cold indifference to having either of his parent’s attention on him.

After a meager dinner, Adam escaped to his room to get ready for bed. After removinghis pants, he tossed them into the corner and was surprised when he heard a small thud as they hit the floor. After a moment his memory clicked and walked over to remove the stone he had pocketed after the raven threw it at him.

He studied it in the dim candle light and was surprised when it seemed to shimmer with every color imaginable, much the same way the raven’s feathers had. After he had looked his fill, he closed his fingers around the smooth stone, feeling it’s weight press into his palm, and climbed into his bed and blew out the candle.

As Adam lay there, he let his thoughts drift back to his time spent in the forest and his strange encounter with the large corvid, which he had decided must be some kind of raven. The bird had served as a good distraction from thoughts of the fight with his father and now that Adam looked back on the memory of the raven launching sticks his way, it had actually been sort of funny. When Adam finally drifted off to sleep that night, it was the first time in his life that a smile graced his lips as he did so.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn’t long before Adam felt the weight of his father’s fists again and the first chance he got he disappeared into the forest and headed toward the willow tree without even thinking about it. When he came to the edge of the pond he found himself gazing up into the branches of the nearby trees. He didn’t even realize that he was looking for the raven until the disappointment of not finding it hit him.

He didn’t even know why he expected it to be there again. It wasn’t like he was something worth coming back for. Heck, he’d even scared it away last time. It was a stupid of him to have even hoped that the raven would be here again. Plus, it was just a stupid bird, it probably didn’t even remember him.

With his thoughts turned back where they should be, Adam took his usual spot at the base of the tree and dissected the events of the day, trying to figure out where he’d messed up enough to anger his father. He wasn’t as in much pain as he was the last time he visited the willow, but tears still flowed freely as he cycled through his thoughts. Eventually, Adam drifted off into merciful sleep, the warm breeze rustling the willow’s leaves in the sound of his favorite lullaby. 

Hours later a small noise near his head pulled Adam from his sleep and as he sat up he nervously glanced around trying to place the sound. He was more than a little startled when he spotted his raven shuffling through some leaves just out of arms reach. He could tell by the brilliant blue of its eyes and the ever-shifting color on it’s wings that it was the same one from last time.

Adam sucked in a shaky breath trying to calm his nerves so he wouldn’t scare it away again. The bird gazed back at him, leery yet unmoving. Hesitantly, Adam reached a hand towards it and let out a softly whispered ‘you came back.’ The raven let Adam’s hand get a hairs breath away before it took flight and the disappointment that shot through Adam was even more acute than earlier and he could feel the self-hate rising in him at having messed up his second chance with the bird.

Much to his surprise the raven hadn’t went far and instead landed on the ground behind him, slightly farther out of reach than it had originally been. It let out a squawk as if giving Adam a warning. Pleased that his raven hadn’t left and not wanting to press his luck, Adam didn’t try to reach for it again and kept his hands pressed into his lap.

“I’m sorry,” he said softy. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Adam was normally a serious child who had no time for whimsy and if he had stopped to think about the fact that he was talking to a bird he would no doubt berate himself for the absurdness of it. But Adam was so caught up in how desperately he didn’t want the raven to leave that he didn’t even give his ridiculousness a second thought. Instead, he kept his focus on the bird and continued talking to it.

“You’re not going to launch any missiles this time, are you?” Adam asked, and the raven quirked his head at him as if listening before it hopped away towards some nearby bushes.

Adam was quite surprised when it returned with a pine cone in it’s beak which, after dropping it to the ground, it promptly rolled his way. Intrigued, Adam picked it up and studied it for a moment before he rolled it back towards the raven. The bird put one of it’s feet on the pinecone to stop it from rolling past it and then again used it’s beak to send it back to Adam.

Adam was so excited by the bird’s cleverness that he couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him. The raven seemed excited too as it ruffled it’s feathers and squawked along while Adam laughed. They continued their game for a bit longer until the loud sound of Adam’s stomach rumbling gave them both a start.

“Sorry,” Adam said, feeling the need to explain himself even to a bird. “I haven’t eaten today.”

The raven turned his head to the side again and a moment later took flight. Adam was sad to see the raven go but he had such a good time playing with the pinecone that he didn’t feel the same desperate sadness that had overwhelmed him earlier.

Even though the raven had left, he decided to around his favorite spot for a while longer. Even this late in the day he still had about an hour before he needed to be home and he definitely wasn’t ready to face his father yet. 

It was only about ten minutes since the raven had flown away that Adam heard the flutter of feathers and when he turned around he wasn’t all that surprised to see that his raven had come back again. What did surprise him was that the raven had an apple in it’s beak, holding steadfastly to it by it’s stem. When Adam didn’t move the raven set the apple on the ground and rolled it towards him. Thinking that they were continuing their game from earlier Adam rolled it back towards the bird.

The raven didn’t roll it back this time though, instead it let out a loud, angry sounding squawk and shook it’s head dramatically back and forth, almost as it were saying ‘no’. After it was done with it’s temper tantrum it rolled the apple towards Adam and then flew up onto a branch in the nearest tree. Adam picked up the apple and gazed up at the raven.

“Am I supposed to eat this?” he questioned, even though he felt silly as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but the raven squawked at his words, almost sounding excited, and bobbed it’s head up and down.

Adam stared at the bird for another few moments in quiet speculation over it’s intelligence, but his hunger eventually won out over the questions that were forming in his mind and after wiping it clean on his shirt, he bit into the apple. It was juicy and delicious, and it took everything Adam had not to scarf it down in a few quick bites. Instead, he bit off a large piece and split it into two pieces and held them out in his open palm towards the raven.

“Would you like some,” he asked, earning another head quirk from the large bird. It seemed like forever that the two stared each other down, waiting for one of them to make a move. Finally, the raven hopped from his branch and landed back in it’s original spot on the ground. Adam crouched down a bit and held his hand out toward the bird, ignoring how tired his arm was getting from being extended for so long.

The raven stared at him for several more moments before it took a hesitant hop in his direction. Adam held his breath but kept his arm out and waited. The raven finally took a few more hops and closed the distance between them and snatched one of the apple pieces from Adam’s palm. It hopped back a few paces while it ate but when it had finished it came back and retrieved the second piece from Adam who had not moved an inch.

A smile stretched across Adam’s face and he sat down cross legged on the ground to finish his apple. He took another bite from it as the raven ate it’s piece and when it was done it looked back Adam’s way.

“Do you want some more,” Adam asked, holding the apple out towards it. The raven let out the same angry sounding squawk it had before and shook it’s head back and forth until Adam pulled the apple back and took another bite. Since the raven hadn’t seemed interested in it anymore, Adam didn’t hesitate to finish the rest of the apple off and tossed the core into one of the nearby bushes.

 “I have to go home soon,” Adam said, speaking to the raven who stared intensely back at him. “I’m going to try to come here again in three days, okay?”

Adam felt a bit foolish trying to make plans with a bird but the analytical side of him that was ever a scientist couldn’t help but test the raven’s intelligence. It had seemed to understand him every time he spoke and Adam had to test to see just how far it’s comprehension went.

The raven bobbed it’s head at him in the same way it had earlier and as Adam stood up it took flight and disappeared into the trees. Adam stared after it until it was out of sight and he wondered if it would be the last time he’d see it or if it would be waiting here for him in three days’ time. As he trekked home, thoughts of his parents were far from his mind and his usual trepidation was replaced by a feeling of hope.

\--

Over the next two days Adam made the trip to the willow tree twice, once each day. He hadn’t had any altercations with his father that he needed to escape from and he didn’t stick around his favorite spot for long either time. He went solely to check to see if the raven was there and he was pleased to find it wasn’t there either day. Adam felt this was a good indication that the Raven didn’t just live near the willow tree and would be there regardless of which day it was. He was now sure that if it did in fact show up on the third day then it really had understood what Adam was saying.

On the third day, Adam tiptoed around his parents as best as he could, he didn’t want anything to mar his trip back to, _hopefully_ , meet with the raven. At breakfast he saved a few berries to offer the raven as a payback for the apple and then completed his chores as quickly and quietly as he could and slipped away the moment they were finished.

Adam ran through the forest as fast as he could but slowed as he came closer to the clearing, not wanting to startle the raven away if it was in fact there. As he came closer to the pond he scanned the trees and then, not finding the raven, searched the ground and bushes as well. The self-hate was almost as instant as his disappointment when he realized the raven wasn’t there. He thought of how stupid he been to think a bird would actually understand his words and with a self-deprecating sigh slumped to the ground near the willow.

His thoughts didn’t have time to take hold though, as an instant later Adam heard the flutter of wings as the raven landed on the ground in front of him. It took him a few moments to react, he had already convinced himself that he was stupid to think the raven would show and yet here it was in front of him.

“Hi,” he finally whispered as he and the raven continued to stare each other down. In response the raven ruffled it’s feathers at him and then turned and hopped away, looking back at Adam as if asking him to follow. Adam stood and walked over to where the raven had stopped near some tall grass and was surprised to see that it had led him to pile of three apples.

“Oh,” Adam said. “You didn’t have to do that. Actually, I brought you something to say thank you for the last apple.”

Adam pulled the clothe he had wrapped the berries in from his pocket and sat on the ground and held them out in offering to the bird. The raven just stared back at him and then used it’s beak to push one of the apples closer to Adam.

“No, I’m ok. You don’t need to bring me food,” Adam insisted, and he was pleased when the raven abandoned the apple and hopped closer to his outstretched hand. He thought it was going to eat the berries and he couldn’t stop the startled yelp he let out when the bird bit him instead.

“OW! What the heck was that for?” Adam asked, glaring at the bird and rubbing his arm where it had bit him. In response the raven hopped back to apple and pushed it Adam’s way again.

“I’m not hungry,” Adam insisted, even though his traitorous stomach chose that moment to let out a loud growl. The raven gave an angry squawk and flapped it’s wings at Adam.

“Okay, okay. I’ll eat the dumb apple,” he acquiesced, “but only if you eat the berries.”

Adam hadn’t thought that birds were capable of glaring but that seemed to be exactly what the raven was doing. It gave another angry flap of it’s wings but finally hopped closer to Adam and ate one of the berries from his still waiting hand. Adam smiled as the bird quickly finished the rest of the berries.

“See, they’re good aren’t they?” he asked triumphantly and earned himself another sharp bite from the bird.

“Stop that!” he yelled but there was no anger behind his words. The raven stared back at him unimpressed and hopped back to the apple and pushed it the rest of the way to Adam.

Adam picked up the apple and began eating it, keeping up with his side of the bargain. When he was finished the raven tried to push another his way, but Adam assured it that he was full right now and would eat the others later.

Instead, Adam searched for, and quickly found, another pinecone and started the same game of ‘catch’ he and the raven had played the last time they were together. When they became bored of their game, Adam decided to climb the willow tree and was pleased when the raven flew up to the branch he had settled on. They spent a good portion of the afternoon up there, Adam talking as the raven seemed to intently listen, even letting out the occasionally squawk in response to something Adam would say. More than a few times Adam caught himself laughing, a foreign, yet pleasant feeling for him.

When Adam’s stomach growled again, the raven made a move as if it were going to bite him again and Adam took that as his cue to climb back down and finish the remaining two apples. The raven, of course, followed him back to the ground and even ate the bites of apple Adam offered it, much to Adam’s satisfaction.  

The sun had already started it’s decent by the time Adam had finished eating and reluctantly he told the raven that it was time for him to head home. The raven bobbed it’s head in understanding and made to fly away.

“I’ll be back again in three days,” Adam yelled after it as it flew towards the sky. The raven didn’t stop but it turned it’s head and looked back at him and Adam knew in his heart it would be back the next time he came. He waved at it as it disappeared into the forest and when it was finally gone he turned towards home with a smile on his face and hope in his heart.

 Adam Parrish had finally made a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3 
> 
> Find me on tumblr @ [raven-knight717](https://raven-knight717.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr @ [raven-knight717](https://raven-knight717.tumblr.com/)


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